Looking Oout Looking In

I tried, I really did. I tried to like this, but it just wouldn't happen. Simon makes great music; I love his work with The Who, Roger's solo band, and the other solo albums of his that I own. This just doesn't cut the mustard for me, and it breaks my heart. I was really looking for this album to arrive in the mail, but I was sorely disappointed when I started listening to it. I think the song "There's A Girl" is a microcosm of the album. It starts off strong and has the potential to be an absolute CLASSIC, but then it fizzles out and leaves nothing but a disappointing taste. The writing just seems cliched and stale, and the instrumentation is neither varied nor good. Even the tracks featuring the vaunted Eddie Vedder come up short. Simon's original "I'm the Answer" is stellar. This version is not. I'm no expert, but I also seem to hear a hint of autotune in Eddie's vocal on that track. Sacrilege. The version of "She Asked Me" featuring Eddie is the best song on the album, but that too suffers because the source material is weak; the song is just not that good to begin with, so any shine that Eddie puts on the track is diminished. Hardcore fans of Simon might dig this, but I did not. Anyone who is here out of ciuriosity, buy the version of "She Asked Me" featuring Eddie, and move on.